Seating arrangements for vehicles are known where passenger seats are arranged on parallel tracks for movement. The seats in these arrangements typically accommodate two passengers sifting side by side, and there may be two rows of such seats extending longitudinally along the vehicle. The seats that are intended to be moved are mounted on tracks that allow the seats to slide along the tracks to change the spacing between them.
One such configuration used in over-the-road motor coaches mounts a group of the seats on tracks whereby the seats may be moved by sliding them along the tracks to make room for a passenger in a mobility aid, such as a wheelchair. In this configuration, the seats are preferably of the type whereby the seat portions fold upward to reduce the horizontal dimension of the seats and allow them to be moved closer to each other, thus reducing the number of seats that must be moved to accommodate a wheelchair.
One problem with the existing systems is that debris often accumulates in the tracks, which restricts, or even ultimately prevents, movement of the seat along the track. A known solution to this problem is to provide a protective cover that prevents entry of debris into the track and to attach such a cover to the movable seats so that the covers move with the seats to maintain protection of the tracks from entry of debris. This solution requires the placement of stationary covers between the movable covers such that the movable and stationary covers telescope with respect to each other as the seats move.
This known solution is satisfactory only if the minimum distance between the seats sliding on the track is not less than double the length of the movable cover. If the distance a movable seat is to move with respect to another movable seat is greater than double the length of the movable cover, the cover of the one seat will engage the cover of the other seat and prevent further movement of the seat. This places a restriction of the distance by which a seat can move, which effectively precludes use of such covers when the seats are to be moved to a position where they are close together, such as when they are to be moved to provide room for a wheelchair.